Hospitals and health care facilities are continuously faced with the problem of urine incontinence. The most common method of collecting urine in the incontinent patient, is the use of in-dwelling bladder catheters. However, in-dwelling catheters present serious problems as they are a frequent source of infection. For example, the article "Mortality Associated With Nosocomial Urinary-Tract Infection", Platt et al, New England Journal of Medicine, Sept. 9, 1982, states that there are approximately 7.5 million persons who are catheterized eacy year in the acute-care hospitals in the United States and it is estimated that 390,000 mortalities occur each year associated with catheter-related infection.
In addition to being a source of infection, the accidental or intentional removal of the in-dwelling catheter by the patient can result in damage to the urethra. With the use of an in-dwelling catheter, a bulb on the distal end of the catheter is expanded after insertion which tends to press and irritate the urethra. Because of the irritation, patients frequently will attempt to remove the catheter with the result that the expanded end can cause tears or ruptures to the urethra, a problem which frequently can only be corrected through surgery.
Because of the problems with the in-dwelling catheter, there has been a need for an external urine collecting device. U.S. Pat. No. 4,281,655 describes a urine collecting device adapted primarily for a male patient and including a semi-spherical urine receiving unit which is positioned around the patient's organs and is adapted to seal against the body through use of a rubber tube bordering the receiving unit. In accordance with the aforementioned patent, when urine is excreted. it is sensed by a sensor which actuates a vacuum pump to withdraw the urine from the receiving unit. The device shown in the aforementioned patent is not contoured to precisely seal against the body and cannot be adapted to female patients, or male patients.
Both sanitary napkins and tampons are regularly used to collect the flow of menstrual fluid, but both of these devices tend to impede the discharge of menstrual fluid and, as such, increase the risk of infection. A tampon retains the menstrual fluid in the vagina, while the conventional sanitary napkin, when attached to the body, will tend to close the labia to restrict or inhibit flow of menstrual fluid to the napkin.